Fantasy, delusion, and the American Dream in Sunset Boulevard
Fantasy is a type of a fictional genre in writing where the plot of a story cannot at any one time happen in the real life. Many times, the plot of a fantasy involves witchcraft or magic and rather takes place in another part of the world. A combination of the clothes, architecture, technology, and language make up the medieval tone of the setting. In many cases, the plot involves the mythical creatures or having talking animals involving the sorcerers and witches. In the real world, a fantasy is a particular situation that is very pleasant and which people picture and they want it to happen and which in many cases is not likely to happen. The idea of a person imagining things and wishing they happen to them is called fantasy and which are sometimes very disappointing to the holders (Foss, pg56). Delusions are the fixed and firm beliefs which have no any basis in real life situations. A person can hold on to a delusion about a particular subject and does not know that the delusion is just something that will never happen ever in the lifetime. In this case, it is possible for a person who is delusional not to know that he is delusional but the individuals he associates with know that he is delusional. In many cases, the American dream is associated with the fact that it is a fantasy and a delusional which many people possess. It is very important to make sure that people understand the problems and the beliefs that people have with regards to life on the basis of having the American dream.
People believe that the American dream is the only solution in life and that everybody must battle in their field of specialty to make it a reality. Today, most people believe that having the American dream is the only chance to survive but in the real sense, it is just a process in life. The American dream is an ideal situation where it is believed that the state should be responsible for a person to reach their dreams which make them happy and jovial in life (Coltheart, pg30). In the past, the American dream was identified as the possibility of a person to be able to fight for freedom, safety, education and finally live a happily ever after. In most cases, this was mainly believed to be the slogan for the communities in America except those who are whites. In the olden days, education and freedom were one of the major goals every person had especially for the blacks who would never see a light of day if they had no education. It was everyone’s dream to be able to afford an education, freedom and eventually live a good life with a well-paying job. That ideology of the American dream made everyone very interested in education since freedom was present and secures a good job which will make him happy. Money and fame was never the theme of having the dream but education and success was the main target. Today, the dream is to have a lot of money and be famous in every sense (Mailer, pg40). The American dream has transformed due to the trends in technology and the capability of a person to be successful without going to school. The young generation is controlled by the mind of living a beautiful life with a lot of money for display. People in schools are not working as hard as they used to in the olden days but are spoilt by the fantasy of money and fame.
The American dream is just a fantasy and a delusion to many which will never come to pass. People and especially the young generation think of big and expensive cars, good house, being famous and everything great as the American dream. From our case, Norma is such a good lady who just happens to fall for being that great actor in the film industry. Norma is very hopeful and has the fantasy of being a great star in the industry and does not know what is happening around her (Sikov, pg305). She has written a script and wants it to be presented and made into a perfect film with her own idea of being that great actor. Coincidentally, a man named Joe who also has his career on the verge of ending meets with Norma in a situation of running from the reality for a better life. Norma asks Joe to read and see how great her script is and wants him to present it to save the fading acting career she holds. The script according to Joe very bad but due to the current situation where he has no money and his possessions are almost repossessed chooses to play along. In such a situation, Joe makes sure that he is in agreement with whatever Norma wants since she has accepted to give him accommodation and even pays off his debts. Joe plays along with the situation to make sure that he is in the right place and also influence Norma to continue believing him and supporting his decisions. In this case, Norma is very happy and even falls in love with Joe since he sees him as the best man. Joe does not take these actions very kindly and even wants Norma to lose interest in him and focus on other things but this does not happen.
Max, a man who has been living with Norma for long, tries to explain to Joe that the situation with Norma is very delicate and could ruin her to death. This makes Joe participate in making everything that Norma wants possible and in a certain night, Joe learns that Norma wanted to commit suicide using his blade and decides to give her what she wants (Sikov, pg451). This can be related to the idea of being very delusional. Norma is delusional about her career which seems to have ended a long time ago but she still thinks she is great in the industry. Norma is delusional that she has already found a husband who will take care of her and even makes love to assure themselves of being in a relationship. Also, Joe possesses some level of fantasy against the real world. His actions of making it possible to live in a house where the owner is delusional of their relationship with the aim of one day getting out of the place are very delusional. There is a minimal chance that he will get out of the relationship after getting what he wants. Norma is somehow very crazy about their relationship and even buys the best things for Joe to make him happy. Norma assuming that Joe is a person who has no life but taking care of her as her husband is a delusion but she does not have any idea of the surrounding (Coltheart, pg76). Norma thinks that she is good at acting and that she can make it even better as per now is a fantasy in reality.
Norma is so focused on her dead career that she never realizes that life is not the same as it used to be in the past. Max has been sending letters to Norma as a way of showing her that the fans are still very alive of her and still appreciate her work. This is very fictional pin reality as max says since Norma believes the letters come from her long fans that are waiting for her to release something big. This is related to an American dream in the ideology that Norma and other people do not allow the reality to take place and think that they still can make it in every sense (Mailer, pg67). It is an ideology that made Norma kill Joe after discovering that he does not love him as he was leaving and still goes on with her life as if nothing has happened. When the police arrive at the scene, Norma is upstairs preparing thinking that they are there waiting for the action to start. She puts on the best clothes, beautiful makeup and eventually waits for the action sound from the filmmaker (Sikov, pg460). This is a delusion that Norma has and which has made her kill and not recognize it as she waits for her film to be taken just like she had written when the fact is that the police are there as a matter of murder case. People who are delusional are so enclosed in their fantasy and have no idea of what is happening. This indicates that they can be dangerous and if no one tries to make them awaken from the dream, it will be disastrous.
Works cited
Coltheart, Max. "From the internal lexicon to delusional belief." (2015).
Foss, Sonja K. Rhetorical criticism: Exploration and practice. Waveland Press, 2017.
Mailer, Norman. An American Dream: A Novel. Random House, 2013.
Sikov, Ed. On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2017.
